A Dragon In The Darklands
by Faithless-Demon
Summary: While searching for Enrique in the Darklands, Jim finds a creature who was thought to be extinct and possibly legend to even trollkind.


"Darkness."

His gauntlet clinked against the cliff as he hauled himself up by his glaives, glaring at the landscape around him.

"Rock."

With a grunt of effort, coupled by expelling energy he didn't have, he pulled his chest onto the outcropping of obsidian, the glowing veins of green that lined the stone seeming almost like kryptonite. Gasping, he dispelled the glaives and managed to drag his legs up behind him before falling onto his back with a sigh and clank of his armor.

"More darkness."

Groaning, he pulled himself up to a sitting position, eyes dancing around the uniform surroundings that seemed to mock him as he traversed. The only difference was a cave about a dozen feet to his left, seemingly the fruit of his efforts to climb the sheer cliff. He'd thought maybe there'd be a way to the nursery, seeing as he had an equally horrible chance of finding it in any other direction, but instead found another cave that probably just had another Nyalagroth hovering over its eggs inside.

"This is hopeless," Jim muttered as he dragged himself to his feet with an air of helplessness, trudging toward the foreboding cave before him. "Seriously starting to doubt that Gunmar didn't eat the kids and NotEnrique is just screwing with us."

The Eclipse blade manifested in his hands, alighting in a fire that matched the intensity of light expelled by the remains of the amulet resting on his chestplate. The eerie red flame refracted unnaturally off the obsidian rock face and green gems as Jim walked closer and closer to the entrance of the cave, careful not to give any tells that could set any potentially hostile creatures inside off.

Taking in a deep breath before exhaling it slowly, Jim straightened himself and entered the blinding darkness within, having not a single gem nor any glowing strirations to light his way, only Eclipse's harsh red flame. His armor clinked with deafening finality, as if it were trying to expose him by making as much noise as possible. But not a sound greeted Jim besides his armor's clinking and his own gasping breath.

"Maybe it is just an empty cave," Jim murmured, eyebrows shooting up in awe and surprise at his luck. Then a chilling growl sliced the air, and he drew himself up into a striking position with a scowl. "Then again, when am I ever that lucky?"

The growl resonated through the cave, most likely coming from the heart of it, but the echoing did nothing to calm Jim's nerves as he slowly moved ever closer, the growling growing louder and louder with every step he took until it almost resembled the sound of a roar or perhaps a whistle.

"Definitely not a Nyalagroth," Jim said, fighting to keep his voice from shaking as the growl crescendoed into an ear splitting roar before settling into the same animalistic snarl as before.

Jim took another step, still not seeing anything in the light of Eclipse, but then froze when the angry sound seemed to dissolve into a pathetic whine or keen like that of an injured dog. Jim's eyes narrowed, trying to peer through the shrouded darkness that Eclipse couldn't pierce, but saw nothing. Nothing but dark, inky blackness.

But then the black _moved._

Naturally, almost gracefully, a wall of shiny black reptilian scales seemed to detach itself from the numbing darkness, forming the huge yet somewhat lithe silhouette of an unidentifiable creature. Four limbs ended in sharp black claws that tapped and scraped along the cave floor, a large and lengthy tail slithered through the dark, two large and powerful wings laid on the creature's back and arched up as if trying to make itself seem bigger. But what held Jim's attention was the head that seemed to meld with the shadows if not for the piercing green eyes that reflected Eclipse's fire. The shiny black pupils were narrowed and cat-like, not dissimilar to a changeling's, and the forest green of its sclera seemed much too nice to be paired with such a dark creature.

Jim's first instinct had been to run away out of pure shock and fear, but the soulful eyes seemed to hold his gaze, as if daring him to look away. His grip on Eclipse loosened as his approach became more subdued, almost submissive, as to not set whatever it was off. The creature's pitiful whines had died out, as had its growls, and to Jim's surprise, its pupils seemed to widen with curiosity as he stepped closer, the black not moving as he stepped within an arm's reach.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he cautioned, setting Eclipse down and baring both his hands in a surrendering fashion. "I…" he swallowed. "Do you mind if I come closer?"

The pupils narrowed again, followed by a low snarl and the definite sound of a nose sniffing his person before exhaling a puff of smoke. The pupils dilated, and the croon that emanated from the creature made Jim relax in a way he couldn't decipher.

Close enough to see the full shape of the creature, Jim stared in amazement of just how big he seemed to be. From head to tail, it seemed to be almost two dozen feet long, with its wingspan doubling that. The paws were about the size of his head alone, and what Jim could see of the head, raised over the rest of its body, the creature had to be taller than him by a good foot standing up.

"What _are _you?"

The whisper was answered with a seemingly amused croon coupled with a snort.

"Okay, don't tell me." Jim moved to the creature's side, noting how its back legs were tucked under it as if sheltering them. That's when he noticed it hadn't stood up yet or made any attempt to attack him. "You're injured, aren't you?"

A grumble this time, and a flash of white teeth that had Jim raise his hands again.

"Still not gonna hurt you." Jim slowly put down his hands only to shift closer to the head of the beast, locking eyes with it. "I can help. My mom's a doctor, and she's taught me how to wrap wounds and stuff like that. Of course," he chuckled humorlessly, "there isn't much I can do here but I can still check it. Maybe splint it with some gem spikes?"

The creature huffed, blowing out a breath of hot air that warmed Jim's face and ruffled his hair, making him frown before the beast crooned again, and closed its green eyes only to gently bump its head against his chest lightly, nuzzling him. Jim reached out a hand to rest upon the beast's nose, grinning at the warmth of its rough and scaly skin as his fingers ran along the angular head, feeling for horns or protrusions. His fingers only came to rest upon two large flaps, probably its ears, and a handful of smaller ones that might have been a measurement of its age.

Jim then continued, running a hand along the creature's side, careful to avoid what he could now see to be leathery, almost bat-like wings as he reached the tail, which still rested mostly in the shadows of the cave. He sunk to the cave floor, his armor clunking in a way that made the creature trill curiously before inclining its head to watch him move Eclipse closer for better light, which didn't seem to work.

"Really wish this cave-"

A deafening sound like a scream mixed with a whistle echoed menacingly through the cave, and Jim nearly jumped three feet in the air when a pile of rocks to his right lit up in a bright purple and white light like an extreme bonfire.

"What in-" His gaze whipped toward the creature, who he now noticed was grinning at him in almost puppy-like fashion. "You… you breathe fire? Wait, where are your-"

Almost on command, the creature's teeth detracted and Jim's eyes widened at the sight of it showing off its retractable teeth like it was a game or an inside joke.

"Huh," he said, focusing back on the leg as he ever so gently maneuvered it so that he could inspect the injury, "honestly thought you might've been toothless there for a second."

The creature's body seemed to go rigid under Jim's touch at his words, the angular head whipping around the gaze at him with pitifully wide green eyes that seemed to cry. Another keening sound came from its throat, and Jim found himself wincing at his words for some reason.

"Sorry, was that a bad topic?"

The creature almost seemed to nod, so Jim decided to focus back in on the injured leg, which didn't seem as bad as it could have been.

"Nyalagroth, huh?" Jim barely put any pressure on the leg to gauge its tenderness only for a low warble to respond. "Yeah, that can be annoying. Well, it doesn't seem to have broken the bone or caused any major damage. Probably feels worse than it looks, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be resting up like I presume you have been."

The creature gave him a 'duh' look.

"Okay, yeah, you're not feeling as bad as your whines made it- ow! What-" Jim rubbed the back of his head where the creature had hit him with its tail, glaring at it as it warbled in happiness. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, you crazy reptile."

The creature seemed to pause again, cocking its head to the side as if contemplating and re-working an idea. It made Jim pause too, blinking in amazement as he took in the beast before nearly facepalming in realization.

"Wings, scales, breathes fire, I'm really dumb, aren't I? You're a dragon, aren't you?" Jim scooted over to rest against the dragon's side, eyeing the beast's head with hesitation. "Blinky said you guys died out a long time ago."

The dragon trilled contently, as if hearing that it should have been dead were none of its concern seeing how it was certainly alive and breathing right in front of him.

"How'd you end up here anyway?" Jim shifted his weight as the dragon did to compensate. "I mean, you've had to have been here since Gunmar, right?"

The dragon just laid its head down in Jim's lap, a weight that was sort of crushing but Jim found he didn't mind. Its tail curled around them both like a cat settling down to sleep, and Jim realized he was grinning as the dragon purred in his lap.

"Alright, I'll shut up. But you're answering my questions tomorrow, dragon. Like, are you a boy or a girl cause I really don't- ow! Okay! Fine, I'll go to sleep!"

* * *

The next morning, or what counted for morning in the Darklands in any case, was spent lounging in the cave with the dragon, spouting out questions that the mythical beast didn't seem to have any interest in besides the occasional huff or nod. Jim found just having a companion to be endearing, smiling despite the creature's odd behavior.

So far, he'd been able to discern that, yes, the dragon was male if its affronted look at being assumed the opposite were any inclination, and that yes, he'd been stuck in the Darklands since Killahead when Gunmar and his armies had been sealed away by Deya.

"You must be old then, huh?" Jim mused, checking over the dragon's bad leg to see if the condition had worsened but it seemed to have healed ever so slightly overnight. "I mean, the first Battle of Killahead was centuries ago, right? Blinky never mentioned any dragons being present, though."

The dragon huffed, causing Jim to shudder at the warm air in his hair and turn his head to stare at the dragon's curious green gaze.

"And where were you before that?" Jim continued on, asking probably his hundredth question. "Dragons are usually told about in tales of Norse and Viking mythology I think but-"

The dragon surged forward, the same keening sound in his throat as he laid his front paws on Jim's chest and licked the chestplate of his armor, tongue lolling out of his toothless mouth. Jim groaned, slightly startled by the sudden move but started to fight to get the dragon's hefty weight off him.

"That'd explain why you weren't so scared of me," Jim wheezed, pushing against the dragon's paw but it just laid its head down to stare into Jim's face. "If you were with vikings, you would've been around humans all the time." Then another thought dawned on him, making Jim sit up a bit more and look at the dragon with wide eyes, voice tinged with awe. "Did you have a rider?"

The dragon's eyes grew wide again, almost pitifully so. A hum rose in its throat as it gave the slightest of nods in response, his tail lightly thumping the cave floor behind him.

"That's…" Jim's mouth moved, but his astonishment left him speechless. _All those crazy legends were true._ "That's amazing. So, they must have named you? Surely they wouldn't have bonded with you and just left you nameless."

The dragon trilled again in sadness, raising his head up enough so that Jim was forced to look up at to meet his gaze. Confused, Jim watched as the dragon opened his mouth just enough so that Jim could see all his teeth before retracting them, mimicking the motions from the previous day.

Jim just blinked, jaw dropped in disbelief as his thoughts ran rampant. _Yesterday… I called him "toothless." Wait…_

"You're kidding, right?" Jim's eyebrows rose to his hairline, staring at the mythical beast before him that could surely tear him to pieces or char him to ashes. "They named you _Toothless?_"

The dragon's tongue lolled out again, eyes still wide with grief but body almost vibrating with excitement as Jim spoke his name. Jim just let out a bark of laughter at the ridiculousness of it all, tears of mirth gathering in his eyes when "Toothless" joined in, nuzzling Jim with his head as he chortled and purred in a crazy yet comforting mishmash of sounds.

"Your rider must have been some crazy viking, huh?"

A sad warble.

"Wonder what happened to him…" Jim graced a hand over Toothless' head, brows furrowing as he wondered if his rider had been present at Killahead or if Toothless had gone at it alone. Either way, the dragon had been alone a long time. "You must miss your old life."

The dragon just licked Jim's hair, covering it in a layer of saliva that left Jim retching.

"Okay, that's disgusting," he murmured, unable to keep his grin down at Toothless' gummy smile, "but maybe we can help each other out, hmm?"

Toothless laid back down again, cautious of his leg as his eyes focused in on the small human.

"I've been stuck here for probably weeks now, searching for my friend's baby brother. He was taken by goblins, and I made a promise to bring him back." Jim's face fell a little as his thoughts drifted to how his friends must be feeling, how they must be dealing. "As you can probably tell, I've had no luck so far, so how about a deal? You help me find her brother, and I help you get back to the real world."

Toothless hummed, seemingly mulling over Jim's words as the Trollhunter smiled hesitantly. After a moment, the dragon nodded and nuzzled the teen's chestplate again.

Jim's smile grew wider and more confident as he cradled Toothless' head, rubbing the dragon under his chin which the beast seemed to enjoy.

"Alright, Toothless, if we're gonna be partners guess you're gonna need my name. I'm Jim Lake Jr, the Trollhunter."

Toothless just stared that same indecipherable, soul-searching stare before dragging Jim down again with his front paws, licking the human with abandon.

"Ugh! Toothless! This better wash out, you stupid dragon!"

Toothless just chortled, purring with a soft gaze as he rested his head on the metal chest of the human, "Jim", and remembered a very similar human from so long ago.

_So much like my Hiccup._

* * *

**heyo first Trollhunters fic ever, and a crossover too! so i really hated THW for a lot of reasons but I really enjoyed the ending, especially the heavy references to the book. some of the best stuff from the whole franchise in my opinion. that being said, with ToA coming to an end soon too and having not found a lot of good or even completed crossovers between the two i figured why not?**

**even tho i have a bunch of crap going on this story will be sort of a guilty pleasure. probably not going over five to ten chapters, but we'll see. look out for sporadic updates and lemme know how i did!**


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